Multiple safety features are provided with the modern motor vehicle. One such feature is a door-mounted warning indicator provided on a rear interior surface of a vehicle front-hinged door. Examples of such warning indicators include reflectors, interior lights, etc. As shown in FIG. 1A, when a vehicle 10 is stopped near a roadway R with the vehicle doors 12, 14 closest to the roadway R opened, the door-mounted warning indicators 16 are visible to oncoming traffic T, thus improving safety.
Center-opening or rear-hinged door designs are popular in certain vehicle types for their improved vehicle side design and ease of passenger ingress/egress. However, with such door designs, conventional warning signals such as door reflectors, interior door lights, etc. are substantially non-functional because they cannot be seen by traffic approaching the vehicle from the rear. As shown in FIG. 1B, in a similar situation as shown in FIG. 1A wherein a vehicle 10 is stopped near a roadway R and a rear-hinged door 18 is opened, a conventional door-mounted warning indicator 16 cannot be seen by oncoming traffic T.
Accordingly, a need is identified in the art for improved warning indicators for use with vehicle doors. To solve this and other problems, the present disclosure relates to a door-mounted warning system. Advantageously, the described system includes a door-mounted warning indicator operable in a plurality of modes, including an enhanced visibility mode for when the vehicle is determined to be positioned adjacent to a public roadway.